Seattle Shippers to the Railroads: Bring Your Steamers Here
At the Chamber of Commerce, merchants demanded that Northern Pacific steamships stop carrying Oriental freight past Seattle and pressed the Great Northern to make good on its terminal promises.
The Shippers' association held its monthly meeting yesterday afternoon at the rooms of the Chamber of Commerce, and the action of the Northern Pacific Steamship Company in not landing its boats at this port direct, and the Great Northern terminals, were discussed at length. The association is gaining new members all the time and promises to secure a great deal of good for the city in securing shipping facilities, both by rail and water.
The consensus of opinion in regard to the practice of the Northern Pacific Steamship Company in not landing its cargoes at Seattle direct was that the company was favoring Tacoma at the expense of Seattle. Several leading shippers thought it best for the association to bide its time and wait awhile for favorable action from the company, and if it was not forthcoming, to take steps to assist in the organization of a company that would land freight at this port. The secretary was instructed to communicate with the officers of the Northern Pacific company and urge upon them the necessity of complying with the wishes of the association.
Considerable discussion was had as to the terminal facilities of the Great Northern in this city. It was stated that the company promised a great many things when it first came in and received handsome subsidies, but had never lived up to its agreements. The shippers thought it should do something in the matter, in view of the fact that it is deriving large benefits from the merchants of this city. The secretary was instructed to communicate with President Hill in regard to the promises made by him, and lay particular stress upon the fact that his road is taking a great deal of money from this city each month and putting out very little in the way of improvements. The secretary was also instructed to communicate with Senator Squire and ask what he is doing in the matter of the Alaska boundary, and request that he take active steps in the matter.
The association now numbers seventy-five members, and includes all the principal shippers in the city.
“The company was favoring Tacoma at the expense of Seattle.”
Seattle's fight to keep its share of Pacific trade is an old one: then it was steamship companies carrying Oriental freight past the city to Tacoma; now it is container terminals, freight rail corridors and port subsidies. The same question recurs—who pays for the infrastructure, and who gets to capture the trade?
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